Things That Had Completely Different Names In The Beginning

Imagine coming home after a long day of work. All you want to do is curl up and listen to some Smile while watching Lenny, Penny, and Kenny. Then, you get a Pictaboo from a friend that says to come over for Super Bowl 100.

I bet you $20 you think I’m crazy for saying that. However, there have been a ton of name changes that will throw you off guard. From Pink Floyd to Sony, there are some interesting details behind the original names of bands, sitcoms, and brands.

If it wasn’t for some interesting last-minute changes, all of these would sound very familiar to you.

Marufuku Company

Blog.BeforeMario.com

There’s a fascinating history behind the company. In 1889, Fusajiro Yamauchi began manufacturing Japenese playing cards in Kyoto. In 1947, he started a distribution company called Marufuku Co.

Four years later, the company renamed themselves Nintendo Playing Card Co. Ltd. Then, to Nintendo Co., Ltd in 1963.

Jerry And David’s Guide To The World Wide Web

Ethan Miller/Getty Images

Yahoo wouldn’t be successful with the original name, and nobody would say the whole thing. It’s too long, and it seems a bit unnecessary. JDGWWWW is no match for Yahoo. But, did you know that the website has an acronym behind their name?

It stands for Yet Another Hierarchical Officious Oracle.

Screaming Abdabs

Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images

“Screaming abdabs” is an old English saying that means to “induce an attack of extreme anxiety or irritation in someone.” When the iconic band was only starting, four young students formed the group after the quote.

Years later, they had names like The Tea Set before settling on Pink Floyd.

The next one ahead is a band who originally had the name smile. But, that would all change thanks to the group’s lead singer.

Best Buy

Logos.wikia.com

Back in 1981, a tornado tore down the Sound of Music’s most profitable store, so they decided to have a big sale selling all damaged goods.

To encourage people to make a purchase, they advertised “best buys” on their products. Funny enough, the company renamed themselves to ‘Best Buy.’

Spongeboy

Spongebob.wikia.com

Yelling “Spongeboy Squarepants!” at the beginning of each episode is cringy. Stephen Hillenburg came out and said it wasn’t supposed to be the name, due to copyright infringement.

The original title was Spongeboy, but it couldn’t be used thanks to a mop company having it copyrighted. Eventually, SpongeBob was born, and the rest is history.

Smile

RB/Redferns/Getty Images

Yeah, Smile sounds terrible, but as it turns out, Freddie Mercury suggested the name. After he was invited to join the band, Mercury came up with the idea to be regal and majestic, just like the Queen.

See, it was nothing but a touching tribute to her majesty.

Who would name their band Sweet Child? Billy Joe Armstrong has the answer to that shortly.

Tokyo Tsushin Kogyo

@SONYUK/Twitter

There is clearly a ton of history behind this electronics company we all know and love. It wasn’t until 1959 when Tokyo Tsushin Kogyo changed its name to Sony. It was inspired by the Latin word for the sound ‘sonus’.

It’s not a bad name, but it sounds a little difficult to pronounce. Sony is nice and simple.

Pictaboo

Techcrunch.com

Snapchats original name was Pictaboo. The creators of the social media app received a letter from a photography company with the same name. Eventually, it was changed to Snapchat. To make the app popular, one of the original creators suggested to advertise it as a sexting app.

Now the logo makes sense.

Sweet Children

Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic/Getty Images

Sweet Children was a band created by Billie Joe Armstrong. The group would switch their name to Green Day after being confused with a California rock outfit Sweet Baby. Also, Sweet Children doesn’t sound nearly as epic as Green Day.

It’s a name that refers to a day when all you do is smoke.

Believe it or not, the next band ahead actually named themselves Blood Fart.

Stag Party

Gabe Ginsberg/Getty Images

It’s every stag’s dream to enter the Playboy Mansion. The now infamous magazine would have been named Stag Party. According to Hugh Hefner, he was influenced by a cartoon book that he had. Before publishing their magazine, Stag sent them a letter that the name was an infringement.

Hefner quickly changed it to Playboy.

Lenny, Penny, and Kenny

Warner Bros. Television Distribution/MovieStillsDb

You may not know this, but Sheldon’s name was initially Kenny. But, the executives decided to rename the character to Sheldon after the pilot. Lenny, Penny, and Kenny came off like a cheesy name that was drawn out of a hat.

But, at least we can thank the universe for small favors.

Blood Fart

Chiaki Nozu/WireImage/Getty Images

On an Ask Reddit, Fred Durst revealed something interesting. The vocalist shared that his band’s name was almost Blood Fart. The name Limp Bizkit came during a riff session when deciding to name the group.

Plus, they never took Blood Fart very seriously considering the chance to succeed was slim at the time.

One band was named Kara’s Flowers on their first two albums. But, read ahead to see what they changed it to for their third one.

Reginald The Red Nose Reindeer

NBCUniversal Television Distribution/MovieStillsDb

A Montgomery Ward department store was selling coloring books about a reindeer, written by Robert May. The reindeer’s character was based on May, and the author initially named him Reginald and not Rudolph. Yeah, it’s weird picturing kids singing about Reginald, the Red Nose Reindeer.

It’s just not the same at all.

Backrub

LIONEL BONAVENTURE/AFP/Getty Images

The search engine is known for having a bizarre name. Interestingly enough, it was supposed to be named ‘Backrub.’ Now, can you imagine back-rubbing something on the internet? Me neither, but that was the company’s original name in 1996.

Thank goodness we can Google anything instead of rubbing for information.

Kara’s Flowers

Kevin Mazur/WireImage/Getty Images

Before Maroon 5, they were known as Kara’s Flowers. The name was a reference to a groupie was had a major crush on all of the band members. After releasing two albums under the original title, the group would do something different for the third one.

They renamed themselves Maroon 5.

I think most kids born in the nineties will appreciate this all-girl band from England just ahead.

Hermione Puckle

Warner Bros. Pictures/MovieStillsDb

J.K. Rowling has said that even though Hermione comes from Shakespeare’s Winters Tale, the character has minimal relation to this character.

The author also said that the name was chosen because it’s something a pair of intellectual dentists would pick to show how smart they are.

Confinity

Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

Back in June 2001, this large worldwide company Confinity renamed themselves to Paypal. At first, the name was a merge of the word confidence and infinity. However, it seems as though the people involved weren’t confident about the original title.

Today, Paypal continues to be a valuable service for online shoppers.

Touch

Dave Hogan/Getty Images

Last minute changes played a big part in the story of The Spice Girls. First, another member, The Smart Spice, would get the ax. Also, the group’s name was initially Touch.

But, that shouldn’t stop a masterpiece like “Wannabe” being jammed out by girls in pigtails at karaoke nights or office parties.

Blue Ribbon Sports

Logos.wikia.com

The blue ribbon logo instead of the swoosh on your gym shorts could have happened. Nike was known for its name change back in 1971. The well-known name was based on the Greek goddess of victory.

The famous logo symbolizes the wing of the goddess, and it’s known as the swoosh.

Six Of One

Warner Bros. Television Distribution/MovieStillsDb

You never know what one little decision can do for a television show. Like The Big Bang Theory, Friends had a different name. And, if it weren’t for Kauffman and Crane, fans would have been stuck watching Six of One on NBC.